If you haven’t yet heard, unfortunately-named rapper Waka Flocka Flame recently came out against lyricism in hip-hop, saying, “I don’t got no lyrics…The niggas who they say is lyrical, they ain’t got no shows … that ain’t finnin’ to get you no money.”

Initially, hip-hop was DJ-only game; records were manipulated to create drum loops, breakbeat repetition, and general dance-inducing beats. As DJ parties became more popular, DJs would recruit friends or fans to get on a mic (or, as in Kool Herc’s case, a DJ would rock the mic himself). They would rhythmically talk up the DJ’s skills or amp up the crowd, but they were always secondary to the DJ. Essentially, an MC was a DJ’s proverbial sidekick.

Now, I may be simplifying things, but… shouldn’t rappers be… I don’t know… good at rapping? I mean, back in the 1970’s, MCs wouldn’t have risen to the premier position in hip-hop if they weren’t displaying some serious lyrical chops. It’s because of their ability to manipulate language in a dynamic, entertaining, and adroit way that they surpassed the DJ as the front-man of hip-hop. And for me personally, hip-hop lyrics are a main reason why I got into, and love, hip-hop. Not only do they provide a window into the very real and very personal experiences of the artists that spit them in a way that no other musical genre does, but hip-hop lyrics can provide an intellectual stimulation (both in content and tonality) that I find totally enthralling.

But I can’t hate on Waka – he’s not the first hip-hop figure to suggest that the majority of our contemporary hip-hop audience isn’t interested in lyrical dexterity. Remember Jay-Z’s infamous lines on “Moment of Clarity”? “I dumb down for my audience/ and double my dollars… If skills sold/ truth be told/ I’d probably be/ lyrically/Talib Kweli”? And in this heyday of ghostwriting, autotune, and SouljaBoyTellEm’s silly, silly dance, it’s not far-fetched to consider that maybe hip-hop audiences don’t care about thought-provoking, honest, and clever lyrics.

So, Waka (can I call you that?), it’s totally cool if you don’t really aspire to anything greater than lyrical mediocrity in your career as a rapper. But if you’re only in it for the money, there’s sufficient evidence suggesting that this attitude might be financially holding you back.